How often do you think to yourself, 'I wish I was thinner/healthier/had a different job' etc. Too often we want the fruit without having to sow the seed.
If you want to grow something, you first have to plant it. But that's not the end - you have to cultivate it as well. That's what takes the time. As my husband pointed out in his sermon on Sunday, you can't go into your garden and pick an apple if there is no apple tree planted there.
Lots of us would like to be more patient, but it doesn't happen overnight. You become more patient by cultivating patience - by actually just doing it. Yes, we'd all like to wave a magic wand and become saintly in an instant, but that's not how it works. We build muscles by using them.
We grow virtues by practising them.
We need to plant the right seeds.
